Bowden's feat was far from trivial.Byline: Bob Rodman The Register-Guard He is, Don Bowden said, "a good trivia question." Bowden ought to know. He's the answer to that question, "Who was the first American First American may refer to:
Bowden, now 70 years old and living and working in the San Francisco Bay Area “Bay Area” redirects here. For other uses, see Bay Area (disambiguation). The San Francisco Bay Area, colloquially known as the Bay Area or The Bay , ran himself into track and field history with a 3-minute, 58.7-second clocking on a cinder track Noun 1. cinder track - a racetrack paved with fine cinders racecourse, racetrack, raceway, track - a course over which races are run in Stockton, Calif., on June 1, 1957. "We were shooting for it," said Bowden, scheduled to be an honorary starter for the Bowerman Mile in Sunday's Prefontaine Classic The Prefontaine Classic is one of the premier track and field meets in the United States. Every year it draws a world caliber field to compete at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field. History The first annual Prefontaine Classic took place in 1974. at Hayward Field For other uses of "Hayward", see Hayward (disambiguation). Hayward Field at University of Oregon is one of the most well-known historic track and field stadiums in the United States. It has been the home to the University of Oregon Track and Field teams since 1919. . "It had been three years since Roger Bannister Noun 1. Roger Bannister - English runner who in 1954 became the first person to run a mile in less than four minutes (born in 1929) Bannister, Sir Roger Gilbert Bannister had become the first runner to go under four minutes (3:59.4 in 1954). No American had done it." Bowden said the race "was easy. The weather was great. I ran it on my own" with quarter splits of 59.7, 61.1, 59.8 and 58.1 seconds en route to his historic effort. He led from start to finish and had no pacesetters or challengers. "I set a goal and worked hard to reach that goal, and I felt a great sense of satisfaction," Bowden said. Bowden's performance 50 years ago made headlines across the country, earned him a trip to New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of and a visit to television's Today show. Awed by the world record for the mile of 3:43.13 set by Morocco's Hicham El Guerrouj Hicham El Guerrouj (Arabic: هشام الكروج, born September 14, 1974, Berkane) is a retired Moroccan middle distance runner. He is the world record holder for the 1,500 metres (3:26.00), the mile (3:43. in 1999, Bowden said that "someone told me that they can break your records, but they can't take the fact that you were the first American" to run a mile under four minutes. Bowden has yet to be inducted into the USA Track & Field Hall of Fame, but a move is under way to make that happen, said Steve Simmons, a former Oregon State and Cal Poly Cal Poly may refer to:
"He was an All-American, a national champion and for a time had a world record, besides being the first American sub-four-minute miler mil·er n. Sports One that competes in races one mile long. miler Noun an athlete, horse, etc., that specializes in races of one mile Noun 1. ," Simmons said. "Don has the credentials." Bowden's magical mile was his one and only under four minutes. "I was a half-miler," said Bowden, then a junior at California who had competed in the 1956 Olympic Games at Melbourne and won the 880 at the NCAA NCAA abbr. National Collegiate Athletic Association meet in 1957 with a time of 1:47.2. "It was my best race." One of his half-mile victories came over Australia's Jim Bailey, running for Oregon, when the two met at the Pacific Coast Conference meet in 1957. Bailey was the first man to break four minutes on U.S. soil when he ran 3:58.6 and beat countryman and then world record-holder John Landy in 1956 at Los Angeles. Bekele won't run Kenenisa Bekele, the world record-holder in the 5,000 (12:37.35) and 10,000 (26:17.53), has withdrawn from the Pre meet's two-mile race. The Olympic gold medalist and two-time World Champion in the 10,000 is continuing to recover from heat stroke he sustained at the World Cross Country Championships in March. "He is at about 90 percent," said Jos Hermens, Bekele's agent, "which sounds good but in the kind of two-mile race on Sunday, he would not be competitive." A Bekele is in the race, however - Kenenisa's younger brother, Tariku, who ran a world-leading 13:04.05 in the 5,000 last weekend. Age-related Kenya's Nicholas Kemboi, 17, is the youngest elite athlete elite athlete Sports medicine An athlete with potential for competing in the Olympics or as a professional athlete; EAs are at ↑ risk for injuries, given the amount of training, for psychological abuse by coaches and parents, and self abuse. to ever compete in the Pre Classic. Kemboi has impressive credentials, including having run 3:33.72 in a 1,500 last year, a time equal to a 3:52 mile. Young talent is no stranger to the meet, however. Alan Webb was 18 years old when he ran 3:53.43 in the Bowerman Mile, shattering Jim Ryun's 36-year-old prep record of 3:55.6 for the distance. The oldest competitor in the Pre meet, excluding masters events, is Johnny Gray. At age 40, the American record-holder for the 800 ran his specialty at the 2000 Pre Classic. Gray set the AR of 1:42.60 in 1985 and also holds the Pre meet record of 1:44.62, which he set in 1996. Welcome mat Bill Dellinger, the former Oregon track coach and bronze-medal winner in the 5,000 meters at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, is scheduled to be honored on Sunday during the Pre meet. Also being recognized is Bob Schul, the last American to win an Olympic gold medal in the 5,000 (1964 at Tokyo). Schul is scheduled to be the honorary starter for the two-mile and to speak at the Eugene Running Company in the Oakway Center following the meet, or about 3:30 p.m. Former UO athlete Joaquim Cruz, who won Olympic gold in the 800 at Los Angeles in 1984, and Miruts Yifter, the Ethiopian athlete who won the 5,000 and 10,000 at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow are expected to attend the meet. Night life A number of athletes are scheduled to compete tonight at Hayward Field in four races - two 800s and two 1,500s - as they seek qualifying times for the USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships on June 20-24 at Indianapolis. Races begin at 7 p.m. There is no admission fee for spectators. PREFONTAINE CLASSIC 12:35 p.m., Sunday at Hayward Field. TV: 1 p.m., NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. . |
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